Cuban boxers close in on historic eight golds

Beijing: Cuba will be aiming for an unprecedented eight gold medals as the Olympic boxing competition reaches the semi-final stage on Friday.

Cuba has outperformed everyone else here in Beijing with eight of their 10-strong team reaching the last four -- no other country has qualified more than four fighters for the semi-finals and Russia, who started with 11 are down to just two.

But while Cuba have impressed after suffering the defections of five Olympic and/or world champions over the last 18 months, there are still some tricky bouts ahead before they can achieve their record quest.

They have never won more than seven gold medals at an Olympics, a feat they achieved in 1996 in Atlanta.

Usually they are pushed close by the Americans who have been a huge let down in China with only heavyweight Deontay Wilder making the last four.

He has his work cut out as he faces Italian world champion Clemente Russo while Russian Rakhim Chakhiev and Cuban Osmai Acosta face off in the other semi-final.

That will be an intriguing clash but it is another Cuba-Russia bout that many are looking forward to, if both win their semi-finals on Friday.

At lightweight Cuba's Yordanis Ugas, the 2005 world champion, and Alexey Tishchenko of Russia, Olympic champion at featherweight in Athens, are still on course to meet in a dream final that Ugas thinks is inevitable.

"I think the final will be against Alexey Tishchenko. Every single person in Cuba is waiting for that fight," he said.

First he must get past France's Daouda Sow while Tishchenko needs to beat Hrachik Javakhyan of Armenia.

Russian coach Leonid Kisselev said high hopes are being placed on Tishchenko's shoulders.

"He has already won an Olympic gold medal. If he can get another one at this Olympics it would mean a lot to the whole of Russia."

The only categories where Cuba won't be represented are featherwieght, light-heavyweight and super-heavyweight.

The latter has seen the surprising emergence of giant Briton David Price as a contender after he stopped favourite Islam Timurziev of Russia in the second round of his opening bout.

Next up he has Italian world champion Roberto Cammarelle.

Italy have continued their good form from last year's World Championships in Chicago - where Cuba were absent - and three of their four medallists from there have guaranteed Olympic medals as well.

As well as the two big men Russo and Clemente, veteran flyweight Vincenzo Picardi has made it to the last four.

He has a tall order ahead of him in the form of former world champion Somjit Jongjohor of Thailand, who vowed after his quarter-final victory to use the Italian as a "dipping sauce."

Hosts China have four gold medal hopes left with double world light-flyweight champion Zou Shiming the best.

He faces Paddy Barnes of Ireland in the last four, with the Irishman acknowledging that he needs to keep calm in front of the partisan Chinese crowd.

"I guess the nerves get to me over here. It just takes a few more seconds to switch on."